Interesting note on Marcos Pontes blogue (the Brazilian astronaut at http://www.marcospontes.net/destaques/20130702_noticia_Acidente.htm, in Portuguese) about the latest Proton accident, saying... "Last night, a Russian Proton rocket lost control during lift-off and exploded on impact at the Baikonur Cosmodrome (the same from where I was launched in 2006 and possibly from I will be launched on my next mission)."

This is the first time I read something about a possible second mission for Marcos Pontes on a Russian space mission.

Can someone have more precise data about applicants numbers for each NASA ascan classes with group 1 to 21?

Any help appreciated.

I don't know about precise numbers, but I have something kinda close. The infographic on this page: (http://www.livescience.com/20600-record-number-astronaut-applicants-infographic.html) has the selections with number of applicants and astronauts for each selection cycle, and while it's not in a neat table form and it's not exact, it seems to be fairly accurate (the applicants sum to 50,450 and the astronauts to 335). 1985 looks troubling, though.

HOUSTON -- NASA and its international partners have appointed three International Space Station crew members to round out future expeditions to the orbiting laboratory.

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, Japanese Exploration Aerospace Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Russian Federal Space Agency cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko are scheduled to launch in June 2015. They will join three Expedition 44 crew members in orbit and will remain aboard as part of Expedition 45.

Lindgren, a board-certified emergency and aerospace medicine physician, joined the astronaut corps in 2009 and worked as a NASA flight surgeon before his selection. He was born in Taiwan and spent some time in the Midwestern United States, but spent most of his youth in England. He holds a bachelor's degree in biology, a master's degree in cardiovascular physiology and a doctorate in medicine. At the U.S. Air Force Academy, he was an instructor, jumpmaster and member of the "Wings of Blue" parachute team. He also conducted cardiovascular countermeasure research at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

Yui was born in Nagano, Japan. He received degrees from the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, National Defense Academy of Japan, in March 1992. He served in the Japan Air Self Defense Force until his selection as an astronaut candidate by JAXA in February 2009. He has participated in two years of astronaut candidate training at NASA, which included scientific and technical briefings, intensive instruction on the space station's systems, spacewalking, robotics, physiological training, flight training using a T-38 jet trainer and water and wilderness survival training. Yui also participated in the 16th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations off the coast of Key Largo in Florida in June 2012.

Oleg Kononenko was selected to join the cosmonaut corps in 1996, and he completed his initial training in 1998. His first spaceflight was as a flight engineer for Expedition 17 in 2008. Kononenko launched to the International Space Station for his second mission in December 2011 and returned to Earth in July 2012. He spent a total of 193 days in space, 191 of which were aboard the station as a part of Expeditions 30 and 31. During Expedition 31, Kononenko served as both the station commander and Soyuz commander. During the course of his two missions, Kononenko has spent 393 days in space.

I don't know about precise numbers, but I have something kinda close. The infographic on this page: (http://www.livescience.com/20600-record-number-astronaut-applicants-infographic.html) has the selections with number of applicants and astronauts for each selection cycle, and while it's not in a neat table form and it's not exact, it seems to be fairly accurate (the applicants sum to 50,450 and the astronauts to 335). 1985 looks troubling, though.

Thanks for this infographic. It is interesting, but you confused TWO different numbers from it and from my upper question:

355 individual astronauts and cosmonauts {from US and rest of the world} have flown on the space shuttle {during 2001-2011} WITH 338 astronaut candidates which have been choosen by American NASA during 1959-2013 and not all have flown into space.

In 2013, Foale retired from NASA to develop an electric aircraft, with a goal to reduce the cost of flying by 90 percent, as part of his passion for Green Aviation. He is currently an advisor for the Inspiration Mars Foundation.

NASA astronaut Michael Foale has retired, ending a 26-year space agency career that included 375 days in space during six space shuttle missions and extended stays aboard two space stations.

Foale spent 145 days aboard the Russian space station Mir in 1997 and 194 days aboard the International Space Station as commander of Expedition 8 from October 2003 to April 2004. He also conducted four spacewalks over his NASA career totaling almost 23 hours.

"We salute Mike and his contributions to NASA as an accomplished member of the astronaut corps," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Starting with his first flight, shuttle mission STS-45, when we flew together in 1992, Mike has worked tirelessly to support NASA's quest to explore the unknown. I know Mike will go on to do more great things as he continues to support the aerospace industry in his new endeavor."

Foale held many positions during his NASA career, including chief of the Astronaut Office Expedition Corps, assistant director (technical) of the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and deputy associate administrator for exploration operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. He most recently worked in support of Soyuz and International Space Station operations, as well as space station spacewalk activity and spacesuit development.

Well it took hours to go through all those L2 Historical images from his missions, but I've written up an article covering Michael Foale's missions, with help from Chris Gebhardt's orbiter mission history overviews:

NASA astronaut Gregory H. Johnson has left the agency, after a 15-year career that included more than 31 days in space, for a position with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space.

A veteran of two space shuttle flights, Johnson served in 2008 as the pilot of STS-123, a mission vital to the construction of the International Space Station. He followed that up two years later as the pilot of STS-134, the penultimate space shuttle mission.

"Greg contributed greatly to the construction of the International Space Station, and I very much enjoyed my time in orbit with him," said Bob Behnken, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We are grateful for his service to NASA and wish him well in his new career."

Johnson earned an undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He later earned graduate degrees from Columbia University and the University of Texas, and served in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot. Johnson flew combat missions during Operations Desert Storm and Southern Watch.

Johnson joined NASA as an astronaut in 1998, and filled many technical roles including capsule communicator for the STS-126, 119, 125 and 127 missions; deputy chief and then chief of the Astronaut Safety Branch; and associate director of external programs at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Johnson recently led the Astronaut Office's Visiting Vehicle Working Group, which helped plan and execute missions with NASA's commercial partners.

Johnson retired from the Air Force as a colonel in 2009, after more than 25 years of service. He has logged more than 5,000 flight hours in more than 50 different aircraft.